Once they moved into Hungary, an aid agency handed out water.
Advertisement
The refugees, eager to reach northern Europe, are now crossing into Croatia after Hungary blocked them at its frontier with Serbia. “But, go on. Not because we don’t like you but because this is not your final destination”.
The human misery was evident in Croatian towns like Beli Manastir, near the border with Hungary.
Between Croatia and Serbia, only the main Bajakovo crossing, on the highway between Belgrade and Zagreb, appeared to be open to traffic on Friday.
The country’s Interior Minister arrived as the tension rose among the large crowds.
Some from Croatia made their way north to Slovenia. Hungary, and now Croatia, is being used as a gateway to wealthier European Union countries by hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
“We can also see from the analyses…that this action was directed in Arabic and English, from loudspeakers, with organised media background”, Orban added.
The country has been utterly overwhelmed by the influx of people after initially stating it would allow migrants to pass through.
Health Minister Sinisa Varga said Croatia expects an influx of more than 20,000 migrants during the next two weeks.
Despite the border closures, many slipped into Croatia through cornfields. People in wheelchairs and women carrying children were among the thousands rushing in the heat in hopes of finding refuge.
But at Ilaca in Croatia, migrants boarded trains – reportedly bound for Slovenia and Austria – on the next step on their marathon voyage.
More than 13,000 people have entered Croatia since Wednesday when Hungary completed a razor-wire fence along the border with Serbia to contain the flow of migrants.
Meanwhile, Zoran Milanovic, the country’s prime minister, said that Croatia’s resources were limited.
Budapest said 40 police officers accompanying the 1,000 migrants were disarmed and sent back to their homeland during the “major, major incident” – though Croatia denied weapons had been taken.
He lashed out at those in the West who have criticized his handling of the migrant crisis. “Kicking this can down the road, kicking these people down the road is obviously no answer”, Miliband said.
“We will be very constructive and cooperative (regarding migrants) but emphasise that there are limits to our capacities”, Milanovic told a cabinet session.
Syrian Abu Mohamed said Europeans had “nothing to fear” from people like himself, who were just looking for safety.
Advertisement
“There will be no sandhill or molehill to hide behind, we will defend our borders”.
